BoSox Injection
Fansided

Boston Red Sox batting champions All-Star team montage

By Rick McNair

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 05: The sun sets behind Fenway Park during the second inning of the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins on September 05, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - SEPTEMBER 05: The sun sets behind Fenway Park during the second inning of the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Minnesota Twins on September 05, 2019 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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BRONX, NY – CIRCA 1998: Nomar Garciaparra #5 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during an MLB game at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. Nomar Garciaparra played for 14 seasons with 4 different teams, was a 6-time All-Star and won the Rookie of the Year in 1997. (Photo by SPX/Ron Vesely Photography via Getty Images)
BRONX, NY – CIRCA 1998: Nomar Garciaparra #5 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during an MLB game at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York. Nomar Garciaparra played for 14 seasons with 4 different teams, was a 6-time All-Star and won the Rookie of the Year in 1997. (Photo by SPX/Ron Vesely Photography via Getty Images) /

Shortstop

What could have been with less injury and possibly a tad less disruption? Nomar Garciaparra broke on the Boston baseball scene with a Rookie of the Year Award after hitting.306 with 30 home runs.  A dependable glove, but not a great glove, but the hitting was something special from the lightning-quick bat of Garciaparra.

Nomar had back-to-back titles in 1999-2000 hitting .357 and .372. Garciaparra also topped 100 RBI four times in Boston and made five All-Star teams. For his nine seasons in Boston, Garciaparra hit .323 with 178 home runs and 670 RBI.

The end for Nomar came in 2004 with a combination of declining performance – which may have been injury-related – and disgruntled over his contract situation. The Red Sox traded him to the Chicago Cubs to solidify the shortstop position defensively and the result was positive – the shattering of “The Curse.”

Nomar’s career continued to go down the rabbit hole before he retired in 2009. For his first half-dozen seasons in Boston, this was a player headed to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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